ORGANIC AGRICULTURE: FARMING METHOD FOR THE FUTURE

Roxan Desiree T. Ortaleza

(Environment Law 2015 Final Assessment)

Organic Agriculture has been mainstreamed only recently with the shift
of social media people from the conventional lifestyle to a healthy lifestyle.
While most developing countries are already using organic agriculture as
their way of life, the Philippines is still struggling to embrace it as the farmers
are still focused on massive food production using conventional type of
chemical farming without even looking at its long term effect to the land and
the environment surrounding it.
Since the end of World War II, farmers were mindset by capitalists to go
for massive food production using chemical fertilizers and pesticides to end
the hunger period brought by war. True to its word, farms produced bountiful
harvests. Sadly, the farmers are lured to continue using chemicals
intensively for their farms while the truth of its unsustainability is kept from
them.
According to the [recent] Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO) data, between 1961 and 2005 fertilizer applications in
the Philippines increased by 1000%, while yields of rice and maize increased
only by 200 and 280% respectively, and the yield of pulses remained about
the same.1
With the intensive use of chemicals, little by little the land become
acidic, and the loam soil slowly becomes hard soil as the materials used for
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making fertilizers such as urea is the same material used in the making of
cements. The excessive and inappropriate use of chemical fertilizers does
not only cause land degradation but also massive damage to all living things
surrounding it friendly farming organisms die, water becomes unsafe for
drinking, fishes are poisoned and human health is at risk.
Slowly farmers stopped tilling their farms and opted to find new jobs as
the land is no longer bearing enough produce. Economically, because of
decrease in farm production farmers remained wallowing in poverty making
farming profession infamous among the young. If this trend continues, our
country is facing a future danger of food shortage.
This scenario is prevalent in all countryside areas in the Philippines
since agriculture has been the traditional backbone of Philippine economy
and farming is still by far the most common form of employment.
This scenario is also true in the farms of Dumingag, Zamboanga del
Sur.
In addition, worldwide trend nowadays is geared towards organic food
consumption. Capitalists created the notion that once the foods are labelled
Organic it becomes expensive and can only be afforded by the haves
creating a misconception that organic farming is never meant for the
masses.

DUMINGAG, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR EXPERIENCE

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The local government of Dumingag while being focused on its battlecry

of liberating its people from poverty, sickness, and hunger has been using
Organic Farming to develop the local agriculture and attain food sufficiency
while using organic farming as main contribution of the municipality to the
global call to adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change

as

mandated as well under the Climate Change Adaptation Act of 2009 (RA
9729).
As explained in its program of government the Genuine Peoples
Agenda (2010), sustainable organic farming seeks to restore the original
nature of land free of chemicals so that it can provide sufficient food to the
people. Land by nature is rich in food that could nurture and sustain any life
from

micro-organisms,

to

plants,

animals,

and

humans.

Sustainable

agriculture is meant to transform the once infertile soil caused by inorganic

farming system into something that can produce sufficient food to any life.
Changing the mindset of the people is the biggest challenge in doing
the advocacy for organic agriculture. The conventional farmers are hard to
convince as their minds are locked in the idea that chemical fertilizers and
pesticides is the only answer to abundant harvest.
Education is the best solution that the LGU provided in order to
address this issue. While a transformative type of education is being
mainstreamed in the schools, the people are also oriented and trained of a
functional type of education that teaches them the advantages of organic

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farming to their economy and environment through trainings, seminars, and

for a and finally convincing them to apply what they learn in their own farms.
The process was never instant. It took years of effort and continuous
advocacy just to convince the people to believe in organic farming.
Municipal ordinances have been crafted to support the advocacy as
well.
Hosting the 1st Mindanao Organic Agriculture Congress in
Dumingag last 2013 paved way to strengthen the advocacy and gain more
support from other practitioners.
Membership to International Federation of Organic Agriculture
Movement marked the LGU Dumingag as the first local government in the
world to have been registered in the prestigious federation and has gained
awards and supports since then which helped increase the organic
movement in the municipality.
Speaking engagements about Organic Agriculture from here and
abroad also earned the support and funds from national agencies and nongovernment organizations.

ORGANIC AGRICULTURE ACT OF 2010

The passage of RA 10068 gives the organic practitioners the hope that
organic agriculture has a place in Philippine Agriculture. While aiming
towards sustainable food production, the law also aims to contribute to the
improvement of the ecological situation [through] use of appropriate,
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socially acceptable, and environmentally-sound technologies to ensure the

regeneration of soil fertility so that the soil remains healthy. Among its goals
is (c) to enhance soil fertility and farm biodiversity, reduced pollution and
destruction of the environment as well as prevention of further depletion of
natural resources and (d) improved resiliency to disaster risks and climate
change vulnerabilities caused by human interventions and naturally induced
hazards through diversification and less exposure to external inputs.3
BENEFITS OF ORGANIC FARMING
Sustainability over the long term. Many changes observed in the
environment are long term, occurring slowly over time. Organic agriculture
considers the medium- and long-term effect of agricultural interventions on
the agroecosystem. It aims to produce food while establishing an ecological
balance to prevent soil fertility or pest problems. Organic agriculture takes a
proactive approach as opposed to treating problems after they emerge.
Soil. Soil building practices such as crop rotations, inter-cropping,
symbiotic associations, cover crops, organic fertilizers and minimum tillage
are central to organic practices. These encourage soil fauna and flora,
improving soil formation and structure and creating more stable systems.
Water. Well managed organic systems with better nutrient retentive
abilities, greatly reduce the risk of groundwater pollution. In some areas
where pollution is a real problem, conversion to organic agriculture is highly
encouraged as a restorative measure (e.g. by the Governments of France
and Germany).
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Air. Organic agriculture reduces non-renewable energy use by

decreasing agrochemical needs (these require high quantities of fossil fuel to
be produced). Organic agriculture contributes to mitigating the greenhouse
effect and global warming through its ability to sequester carbon in the soil.
Biodiversity. Organic farmers are both custodians and users of
biodiversity at all levels. At the gene level, traditional and adapted seeds and
breeds are preferred for their greater resistance to diseases and their
resilience to climatic stress. At the species level, diverse combinations of
plants and animals optimize nutrient and energy cycling for agricultural
production. At the ecosystem level, the maintenance of natural areas within
and around organic fields and absence of chemical inputs create suitable
habitats for wildlife.
Genetically modified organisms. The use of GMOs within organic
systems is not permitted during any stage of organic food production,
processing or handling. As the potential impact of GMOs to both the
environment and health is not entirely understood, organic agriculture is
taking the precautionary approach and choosing to encourage natural
biodiversity.
Ecological services. The impact of organic agriculture on natural
resources favors interactions within the agro-ecosystem that are vital for
both agricultural production and nature conservation. Ecological services
derived include soil forming and conditioning, soil stabilization, waste
recycling, carbon sequestration, nutrients cycling, predation, pollination and
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habitats. By opting for organic products, the consumer through his/her

purchasing power promotes a less polluting agricultural system. The hidden
costs of agriculture to the environment in terms of natural resource
degradation are reduced.4

CALL FOR CONVERSION FROM CONVENTIONAL TO ORGANIC FARMING

At present, many farmers are already practicing organic farming in
Dumingag. But the numbers are still few compared to the number of farmers
who are still using conventional type of chemical farming.
Untiring advocacy to the farmers while continually patriotizing the
organic products is still the best solution to get the interest of conventional
farmers to shift.

The number of organic products is also increasing of which the

community is in need of marketing support in order to sell their produce.
The best way for the community and every individual to help is to
continue in advocating the cause that the organic farmers has been pushing
at work, home, or in any places where support can be gained.
Lastly, by making organic way of living as way of life, we can help
support the organic agriculture movement. Through this way, we cannot only
save ourselves through healthy lifestyle but we can also save the economy
and our environment. #

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References:

TIRADO, R. and BEDOYA, D. (2008) Agrochemical use in the Philippines and its consequences to the

environment.

[Online]

Greenpeace

Southeast

Asia.

Available

from:

http://www.greenpeace.to/.../gpsea_agrochemical-use-in-the-phillip.pdf[Accessed: 28th Mar 2015].

LGU DUMINGAG (2010) Genuine Peoples Agenda. Dumingag: LGU p.11-12

PHILIPPINES. NATIONAL ORGANIC AGRICULTURE BOARD. (2012) The National Organic Agriculture

Program 2012-2016. Quezon City: BAFPS. p.19

FAQ ON ORGANIC AGRICULTURE. (2014) What are the environmental benefits of organic agriculture?

Available from (Infohub.ifoam.bio/en/faq-organic-agriculture#5) [Accessed.28 th March 2015].

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